Apparatus for handling railway-ties.



v PATBNTEDDEG. 15, 1903. 0. P. OLSON, P. J. ANGIBR &- W. G. LAMBERT; APPARATUS P011 HANDLING RAILWAY TIES.

AIPLIGATION FILED MAB 31| 19.02.

NO MODEL.

THE NORRIS PETihS cc. PHoYd-uwa, WASMINGTOM D.c.

UNITED STATES Patented December 15, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES P. OLSON, OF LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, AND FRANK J. ANGIER AND WILLIAM G. LAMBERT, OF EDGEMONT, SOUTH DAKOTA.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING RAILWAY-TIES.

{SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 746,737, dated December 15, 1903.

Application filed March 31, 1902.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it knownthat we, CHARLES P. OLSON, residing at Lincoln, Lancaster county, Nebraska, andFRANK J ANGIER and WILLIAM G. LAMBERT, residing at Edgemont, Fall River county, South Dakota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Handling Railway-Ties, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements inapparatus for handling railway-ties, and refers more particularly to an apparatus designed to facilitate the transfer of railwayties or analogous commodities from a railwaycar to a storage-yard, or vice versa.

The salient objects of the invention are to provide a simple practical apparatus which may be adjusted to any ordinary railway-car with ease and convenience and which will enable the ties to be handled more rapidly and with very much less manual labor; to

, provide in an apparatus of this character a construction in which the ties may be transferred to or from any part of the car and in which, if desired, workmen may be engaged in both ends of the car simultaneously and nevertheless, use the same transfer mechanism without substantially interfering with each other, thereby decreasing the time required to load or unload a given car; to provide in apparatus of this kind means for readily temporarily applying the overhead trackage to a car of ordinary construction; to provide a simple .formof carrier adapted for use as a part of theapparatus, and in general to provide simple and practical details of construction contributing to the efficiency of the apparatus as a whole.

To these ends the invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims,

and the same will be readily understood from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view, partly in plan and partly in horizontal section, ofan apparatusembodying our invention as installed and ready for use. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the indirect line 2 2 ofFig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig.

3 is a detail in side elevation of the improved erial No. 100,747. (No model.)

suspension device or carrier constituting one feature of the invention. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are details showing the manner of uniting the flexible trackrrails, which are installed within the car, with the main track leading to the yard or storage-room. Figs. 7 and 8 are side and front elevations,respectively, of the overhead traveler from which the carrier shown in Fig. 3 is suspended. Fig. 9 is an elevation of the trestle employed for supporting the yard end of the overhead track. Figs. 10 and 11 are details of one of the trestle members or standards. Figs. 12 and 13 are side and front elevations, respectively, of a hanger adapted to suspend the track at the door-opening. Figs. 14 and 15 are similar details of a second type of track-hanger employed, and Fig. 16 is a plan or top edge View of one'of the curved-track members which are installed in the car-body.

Referring to said drawings, 1 designates as a whole an ordinary closed car; 2, a storagefloor alongside of which the car may be drawn and desirably provided with one or more sets of track-rails, as 3 4, upon which is arranged to run a transfer-truck 5.

6 designates as a wholeanoverhead track extending from above the storage floor or yard into the car-body and provided within the car with oppositely-extending extensions 7 and 7. The outer end of the track 6 is adjustably supported upon a trestle member 8, the two extensions 7 and 7 upon suspensionhooks9, applied to the overhead joists of the car-body and the intermediate portion of the track at the point Where it extends through the door-opening of the car 10, supportedby means of an adjustable hanger 11. (Shown in detail in Figs. 12 and 13.) Upon the overhead track is-arranged to run one or more and 7, which are desirably formed of flexible strap metal and united with the endof the I-beam, as shown in Figs. 4, 5, and 6that is to say, a supporting-plate 16 is applied to the under side of the I-beam provided with extensions 17 at each side suitably shaped and constructed to underlie the lower flanges 18 of the I-beam and extend upwardlylaterally outside of the I-beam to points approximately coinciding with the upper surfaces of the main web of the beam. A second supporting-plate 19 is similarly applied to the top side of the Lbeam, between the flanges thereof, both of said supporting-plates being rigidly riveted or bolted to the 'I-beam and being arranged to extend beyond the latter in parallel relation to each other a sufficient distance to afford suitable support for the extensions 7 and 7', which are inserted therebetween. The two supporting-plates which extend beyond the Lbeam form channels or sockets 20 to receive the end portions 21 of the track extensions, which latter are fitted to abut against the end of the I-beam, as indicated at 22, and secured within the sockets thus formed by means of a through-bolt, (indicated in dotted lines at 23.) The width of the extension-track members is preferably somewhat greater than the depth of the flange or head portions of the I- beam, and said extensions are therefore reduced' in width, as indicated at 24, throughout the length of the underlapping portion of the lower supporting-plate 16. The track may be conveniently adjustably supported from the overhead door-rail of the car by means of a suspension-hook, (shown in detail in Figs. 12 and 13,) and comprising an upper hooked end 25, adapted to engage the rail and adapted to be inserted at its lower end through a suitable aperture 26, formed vertically through the I beam, a suitable cross-pin or cotter being inserted through one of a series of keyholes 27, formed through the body-of the hook or hanger. The extension-rails may be adjustably and detachably secured to the overhead joists by means of the clamp-shaped hangers 28, (shown in detail in Figs. 14 and 15,) said hangers each comprising a vertical body provided at its upper end with embracing-ears 29, desirably toothed or corrugated upon their inner faces and through one of which is threaded a setscrew 30, the lower end of the vertical body being provided with a horizontal extension 31, terminating in a vertically-slotted seat 32, adapted to receive the lower edge of the rail. The outerend of the I-beam or main-rail member is conveniently supported by means of the trestle 8, consisting of a pair of legs or standards 33, suitably framed together in di' vergent relation, provided at their lower ends with foot-prongs 34 and spaced apart at their upper ends to form a fork or recess 35, adapted to receive the I-beam. Upon the outer side faces of the trestle are mounted notched plates 36, having their notches 37 in horizontal alinement to receive any suitable crossbar whereon the I-beam may adj ustably rest.

The tie-hanger 13 consists of "a rigid bar having a horizontal supporting portion 38,

desirably provided with prongs at its upper whereby it may be attached to the hook of.

the carrier 12. The carrier 12 may be of an ordinary type, comprising the main body 41, provided with a hook 42 atits lower end to engage the chain 40 and returned upon itself at its upper end to provide lateral supports, between which isjournaled the track-wheel43.

The use of the apparatus constructed and arranged as set forth may be briefly described as follows: The loaded car having been drawn alongside of the storage-floor, the car-door is opened and the overhead track adjusted to position, the outer end of the main track being supported on the trestle and the extensions within the car attached to the overhead joists and to the car-door rail in the manner hereinbefore fully described. The workmen in unloading the ties simply run the carrier 13 along the track to the proper point in the car, then lift one end of the tie, and adjust the hanger beneath the same in such position as to support the tie approximately in equilibrium. The workman having thus adjusted the tie upon the hanger, simply moves the hanger along the rail with one hand, following along and supporting the tie with his other hand, so as to prevent it from falling from the hanger until he arrives at the point where it is to be discharged, which may be upon the truck running over the storagefloor, or obviously may be directly to a pile upon the floor. If preferred, two hangers may be operated simultaneously, one man working in each end of the car, since the tracks may be used independently of each other without interference of the travelers.

It is to be noted that as the pile of ties in the car is lowered the hanger may be lowered from time to time by engaging the difierent links of the chain with the hook of the traveler, so that the minimum labor is required in handling the ties.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the transfer of the ties from the car to the storage-yard or, vice versa, from the storage-yard to the car may be accomplished with the utmost ease and with great expedition. It will also be seen that the apparatus may be quickly applied to and disengaged from the car and that when installed it is held firmly and reliably in place.

While we have herein described a highly practical and preferable construction, yet it will be obvious that the details may be modified without departing from the invention,

and we do not, therefore, limit ourselves to the precise details of construction shown herein.

We claim as our invention 1. In a tie-handling apparatus, the combi nation of a main overhead track provided with oppositely-extendingextensions adapted to be arranged within a car-body, a plurality of clamplike hangers adapted to support the extension-track members from the overhead joists of the car, a trestle adapted to support the outer end of the main track, a wheeled traveler adapted to said track and a tiecarrier adapted to be suspended from said traveler, substantially as described.

2. In a tie-handling apparatus, the combination of an overhead track comprising an I- beam forming the main portion of the track,

strap-like extensions connected with one end of said main track to extend divergently Within the car-body, means uniting said extension-tracks with the main track comprising upper and lower supporting-plates overlapping the meeting ends of the I-beam Witnesses to signature of Charles P. Olson G. E. HOGAN, O. W. PALEN.

Witnesses to signature of Frank J. Angier:

H. E. WILLIAMSON, E. E. BoEmIE.

Witnesses to signature of William O. Lambert:

Tuos. GANNON, J. R. CALDER. 

